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Serial killer Charles Manson dead at 83

Serial killer Charles Manson dead at 83
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(KGTV) -- Murderous cult leader Charles Manson has died, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Manson was 83.

The CDCR said that Manson died of natural causes at 8:13 p.m. Sunday at a Kern County hospital. 

He was was recently rushed to the hospital for an undisclosed medical condition.  Hollywood news site TMZ last week reported that Manson was rushed to the hospital and appeared "ashen." 

"It's not going to get any better for him," an unnamed TMZ source said.

Manson had been behind bars in the California prison system for 46 years, convicted for his role in leading the cult that committed a wave of murders during the summer of 1969. The cult of those who followed him was known as the Manson Family.

He was serving nine concurrent life sentences at Corcoran State Prison in Corcoran, California.

Manson was the mastermind that orchestrated the slaughter of seven people including actress Sharon Tate, the wife of movie director Roman Polanski. Tate was reportedly two weeks from giving birth to her son.

"Manson was admitted to state prison from Los Angeles County on April 22, 1971, for seven counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder for the August 1969 deaths of Abigail Ann Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Steven Earl Parent, Sharon Tate Polanski who was eight months pregnant, Jay Sebring, Leno La Bianca and Rosemary La Bianca," the CDCR said in a statement.

The incidents became so memorable because they occurred at a time when the growing hippie counterculture movement had been spreading messages of love and peace.

In the past, Manson has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and paranoid delusional disorder.

The notorious murderer was hospitalized for an illness back in January, and his condition then was unknown to the public.

"Inmate Manson had been housed in the Protective Housing Unit at California State Prison-Corcoran since 1989. The unit houses inmates whose safety would be endangered by general population housing. He had also been housed at San Quentin State Prison, California Medical Facility, Folsom State Prison and Pelican Bay State Prison," the CDCR said.

Stay with 10News for updates on this developing story.

Scripps reporter Natalie Tarangiolicontributed to this report.